320 Nelson Street, P.O. Box 778, Tiffin, OH 44883
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Residents can help with costs of recycling

What shouldn't be overlooked, as the Tiffin City Council assesses recycling plans, is citizen participation in covering the cost.

By ordinance, Tiffin requires residents to recycle. On paper that puts the city in compliance with state regulations.

However, anyone interested in recycling knows that the current weekly dropoff collection at the city garage is not bringing in the volume that was obtained with the former curbside program.

Another difference is price. The new system is free, placing all the difference between the costs of the operation and the sale price of the materials on government, whether from the state recycling grant or from local tax dollars.

The curbside program required residents to buy bags, with the money from the bag sales reducing the government subsidy to the recycling contractor.

A return to curbside recycling may well cost the city some money in subsidy. But residents also can be expected to help pay with bag purchases.

The council should be encouraged to keep after its pursuit of a return to curbside recycling. The City of Tiffin has regressed in the important part of reducing what we bury in landfills.